Pathways to Insecurity: Urban Food Supply and Access in Southern African Cities

This is part of a series of policy and research papers designed to raise the profile of the urban food security issue in Africa by presenting new research findings and policy recommendations.

The new international food security agenda places the small farmer at the centre of its efforts to resolve the growing problem of food insecurity in Africa. This agenda has very little to say about the feeding of cities and the food security of urban populations. Amongst urban populations, the main determinant of food insecurity is not production but accessibility. In urban areas, accessibility depends primarily on the individual or household’s ability to purchase foodstuffs which in turn hinges on household income, the price of food and the location of food outlets.